AU6548599A - Rail section - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Applicant(s): BWG BUTZBACHER WEICHENBAU GESELLSCHAFT mbH Co. KG Actual Inventor(s): Ullrich Haub and Alfred Kais Address for Service: PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade Box Hill Victoria 3128 Australia Title: RAIL SECTION Associated Provisional Applications: No(s).: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- Description Rail Section The invention refers to a rail section formed as a tongue rail which is welded flush to a connection rail having a base and track surface inclined to the horizontal.

Nowadays, usually tongue rails are welded on the end side and built out of connection or regular rail stump. In the course of joining to regular rails it inclines, so usually in the weld area it is made with a geometrically progressive change between tongue end and connection rail. This is especially possible if aluminothermal welding is used.

Also it is known to make a continuing change in the load face area so that the rail head with an inclined load face is rolled over to correspond to an inclined load face of a connection rail of the ongoing tracks (EP0508638B1/DE693 11 068 T2). Particularly with high speed rails, an adverse effect on travel comfort can result. Also it is necessary to frequently inspect tongues correspondingly diverging from the usual profile cross-section.

From DE 333 33 700 AQ is known a point with a spring tongue which is welded with a forged shaped piece that for its part makes possible a geometrical adjusting on a connection rail. The shaped piece and connection rail are further part welded so that altogether two welding seams between the tongued rail and the connection rail are necessary. By doing this not only is more work expended but also a frequent inspection of the point is necessary.

The invention deals with the problem of a rail cross-section, in particular a tongue rail of the known art but so improved that a problem-free adjustment of the geometrics of the rail cross-section and connection rail is possible without further work required on the cross-section itself.

Departing from the known state of the art, the geometry adjustment is not in the weld area, but more in a transition area, in particular on a tongue rail in the transition area between the top sided tongue profile and the regular rail sided end area of the tongue rail. The geometry adjustment takes place in the rail cross-section as well as the tongue root itself Consequently a problem free merging of the rail cross-section with a connection rail with greater inclination is also possible. Therefore a stump weld of rail cross-section as tongue rail and connection rail as well as regular rail can take place, without resorting to a progressive changing in the weld area must be resorted to, and moreover such great differences in inclination cannot be compensated. Independent of this a fish plate connection can also be made, and in accordance with the invention, geometry changing does not proceed in the connection area. Further a welded connection between tongue rail and connection rail only is required enabling a high loading to be put on the point rail cross-section.

In particular the invention provides that in the interval at a connection side end of the rail cross-section an adjustment to the geometry of the connection rail takes place by forging in a transition area. Consequently the connection side rail cross-section can be supported on a surface which corresponds to the connection rail. In other words there is provided the connection side end over a region B, preferably B 100 min, with a prepared end geometry which corresponds to the connection rail. The forged area itself may have a length of e.g. 500 to 2000 mm, the necessary length depending on the extent of the geometrically proceeding change. The forged intermediate area of the rail cross-section makes possible a problem free geometric adaption of the rail end to the adjacent connection and/or regular rail without further working of the head. At the same time it is guaranteed that the rail cross-section load carrying edge is not changed so that virtually the forged area around the load edge is "turned" 9 to correspond to the load carrying edge in the rail cross-section area beyond the connection rail side end. Further particulars, advantages and characteristics of the invention are given not only in the claims but also from the description of the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an end of a tongued rail in side view which comprises the tongue forming front section 12, a transition region 14 in the form of e.g. a forging as well as a final section 16 with a profile that follows on to a connection rail or standard rail e.g. to which the stump of the final section 16 of the tongued rail may be welded.

The front of the tongue section 12 is supported on a horizontal surface and depending on its position the wheels of a rail vehicle smoothly turn aside (deviate) and turn back (reverse) by a switch from a trunkline track into a two-line (branch) track.

Since the connection rail goes, e.g. is supported, on a horizontally inclined surface, the rail section 10 at its end area 16 must meet flush with the connection rail so that the respective profile corresponds in geometric cross-section.

Accordingly to the state of the art, welding the facing surfaces of the end area of the tongued rail and the connection rail are joined by aluminothermal where the changing course in the connection area is situated.

As far as the connection rail, with considerable gradients e.g. 1:20 it is no longer possible to transfer the corresponding geometric fit into the connection areas without cost disadvantages, by the carrying through of the transition area between tongued rail and connection rail. This is especially excluded with high speed tracks. Alternatively a forged intermediate part may be welded into the geometric shape. With this system, there are two weld seams which can lead to considerable disadvantages as well as material variation or impacts by the trains.

According to the invention a geometric adjustment of the progress of the connection rail to the tongued rail 10 results from re-shaping and/or forging around the tongue rail itself, especially in the transition area 14 and also in the end area 16 if necessary, in such a way that a continuous geometrically proceeding change results in a flush transition to the connection rail. At the same time it guarantees that the load bearing edge is not changed in the geometrically changing end area. Furthermore with the design such as a forging, the forging out of area 14 in the direction of the front surface 18 is worked virtually around the g *load edge 20, as indicated in Fig. 2. Thus view A shows clearly that the front face 18 has an inclined shaped foot 22 with a corresponding inclined vertical web 24 and head 26 is virtually oooo turned around the load edge 20 whereby it corresponds to the connection rail. By this means the tongued rail 10 at its connection side end 16 has a cross-section and geometric shape S 15 which corresponds to the connection rail, whereby the rail feet are identically inclined and o..0 consequently can be arranged on similar supporting plates. By this means a geometrically proceeding change results which discernibly diverges from a point/dashed line construction in principle representing the normal disposition at a horizontal surface supporting rail feet 22', perpendicular web 24' and corresponding rail head 26'. If necessary the forging already ends 0 0 20 in the interval B and the front surface 18 provides the weld area between tongue rail 10 and S connection rail. The interval B amounts to preferably more than 100 mm.

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Claims (10)

1. Rail section in the form of a tongue rail which merges into a connection rail inclined to the horizontal wherein the connection rail and the adjoining connection side end area of the rail section have a similar profile characterised by the rail section in its connection side end area having a corresponding geometric shape as the connection rail.

2. Rail section according to claim 1, wherein the connection side end area of the rail section constantly merges into the geometric shape of the connection rail.

3. Rail section according to claim 1 or 2 wherein an interval of the connection side end area following a course to a transition area of the rail section is forged in such a way that the 10 connection rail side area of the rail section corresponds both to the cross-section and geometric shape of the connection rail.

Rail section according to at least one of the previous claims wherein the rail section beyond its connecting side to the geometric process of the connection rail adjusted end area is supported with its base on a horizontal surface.

5. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein independently of the shape of the rail base or rail head in particular by the forging on the geometric shape of the connection rail as regular rail, the transition area of the rail section remains unchanged in its load carrying edge shape.

6. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein cross-section surfaces proceeding parallel to one another with the geometric shape of the connection rail, the adjusting area of the rail section represent themselves as fixed point turned surfaces.

7. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein the forged transition area is free of support.

8. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein the forged transition area is a typical forging out of a tongue rail.

9. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein the rail section in the form of a tongue rail is joined to the connection rail by way of a single welding.

10. Rail section according to any one of the previous claims wherein the area enabling the geometry adaption of the rail section to the connection rail in interval B, preferably amounts to> 100 mm. Dated this 23rd day of December 1999 PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 10 Attorneys for BWG BUTZBACHER WEICHENBAU GESELLSCHAFT mbH Co. KG e o *eo *o*